Peter Schmuck’s Orioles grades for the week of Sept. 12-18

Patrick Semansky / AP

Maybe the Orioles need to count their blessings after averaging just 3.4 runs in their seven games last week. They managed to win four of those seven games despite scoring two runs or fewer four times. They showed some ability to play small ball on a few occasions, but generally fell back on their usual formula. They were 4-1 in the games in which they sent at least one ball over the fence. They hit a total of 10 homers last week, which is about par for the course, but they’ll need to average about two per game to challenge baseball’s single-season homer record.

Maybe the Orioles need to count their blessings after averaging just 3.4 runs in their seven games last week. They managed to win four of those seven games despite scoring two runs or fewer four times. They showed some ability to play small ball on a few occasions, but generally fell back on their usual formula. They were 4-1 in the games in which they sent at least one ball over the fence. They hit a total of 10 homers last week, which is about par for the course, but they’ll need to average about two per game to challenge baseball’s single-season homer record.

It was not a typical week for the Orioles defense, which committed an error in five of the seven games and lost ground in the major league fielding rankings. The five errors dropped them into sixth place in fielding percentage (.987) and tied for fourth in fewest errors (70). They continue to be one of the best teams in baseball at turning the tough double play and have shored up the outfield with the availability of new reserve outfielders Michael Bourn and Drew Stubbs. Bourn initiated the play in left field that saved Friday’s victory after driving in an important run.

It was not a typical week for the Orioles defense, which committed an error in five of the seven games and lost ground in the major league fielding rankings. The five errors dropped them into sixth place in fielding percentage (.987) and tied for fourth in fewest errors (70). They continue to be one of the best teams in baseball at turning the tough double play and have shored up the outfield with the availability of new reserve outfielders Michael Bourn and Drew Stubbs. Bourn initiated the play in left field that saved Friday’s victory after driving in an important run.

Every week, Orioles columnist Peter Schmuck will grade the performance of the Orioles in five categories. The letter grades are not directly tied to any particular statistic, but are representative of a cumulative evaluation of everything – tangible or intangible – that falls under that particular category.